Electric post-office box



(No Model.)

WQA. M. & R. '1'. 1-". SMITH. BLBGTRIG POST OFFICE BOX. No. 455,126.

Patented June 30, 1891.

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WM N- W $4; 94 BY w I ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OF CE.

WILL A. M. SMITH AND ROBERT T. F. SMITH, O F MORRISON, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRI C' POST-OFFICE BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 455,126, dated June 30,1891- Application filed March 4, 1891. Serial No. 383,685. (NomodeL) ITo all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WVILL A. M. SMITH and ROBERT T. F. SMITH, both ofMorrison, in the county of WVhiteside and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and Improved Electric Post-Oflice Box, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the annexeddrawings, forming a part thereof, in which- Figure 1 is a verticaltransverse section of our improved electric post-office box, and Fig. 2is a horizontal section taken on line a: 00 in Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both viewsThe object of our invention is to provide a door-catch for post-officeboxes which can be released by the action of an electro-magnet.

Our invention consists in the combination, with a post-office box, of adoor provided with a catch and arranged to be operated by gravity, alatch arranged to engage the door-catch and provided with an armature,and an electro-magnet supported within the post-office box and adaptedto lift the latch, all as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The post-office box A, to which our improvement is applied, is of theusual form and construction. To the front of the box is attached ametallic frame B,provided with ears (1, which are secured in mortises inthe front of the box. To the lower part of the frame is hinged ametallic door 0, which is perforated and is provided with aglass panel.The upper part of the door is provided with a catch 1). In the upperpart of the box A is secured a casing D. containing the electromagnet E,and provided with a hollow arm F, in which is pivoted the bent latch G,which extends forward through an aperture in the front of the casing Dand engages the catch b. To the latch G is attached an armature H, whichis within the field of the magnet E. Wires I I, connected with themagnet, extend to a distant point and are connected with a battery andpush-button. By means of this construction when the circuit is closed bypressing the push-button the magnet E is energized and the armature Hislifted, raising the latch G out of engagement with the catch 0, thusreleasing the door 0, when the door opens by its own gravity and thecontents of the box are made accessible from the outside.

Our improved electric post-office box is applicable to all classes ofpost-offices. The push-button is preferably located near the desk of theattendant, so that he may release the door and deliver the mail withoutchanging his position. There are as many pushbuttons as there are boxes,which are provided with the same number, so that when the number of acertain box is called it is only necessary for the attendant to pressthe push button bearing the same number.

Although we have described the door as being opened by gravity, we donot confine ourselves to the construction, as we may arrange the door toopen on the side and provide a spring for swinging it open whenreleased.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with a post-office boxprovided with a door arranged to open automatically, of anelectro-magnetic doorreleaser, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the box A, provided with the door 0, arrangedtobe opened by gravity and having the catch 1), of the latch G, adapted toengage the catch b and provided with an armature H, and a magnet E,adapted to act upon the armature H, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the magnet E and latch G, of the casing D,provided with the hollow arm F, substantially as specified.

WILL ,A. M. SMITH.

ROBT. T. F. SMITH.

Witnesses:

F. A. VAN ()snoL, W. L. BREWER.

